News

IISL submits contribution on Article XI OST to UN COPUOS LSC 2026

The final report of the IISL Expert Initiative on Information-Sharing and Article XI of the Outer Space Treaty was submitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) ahead of the 2026 session of its Legal Subcommittee. In early 2026, IISL members were invited to participate in a new format of collaboration: the Expert Initiative, designed as a short, intensive working process to gather input from Read more

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Register for webinar of IISL Working Group Interplanetary Internet

Dear IISL Members, The Working Group on International Law Aspects of Interplanetary Internet invites you to its upcoming webinar, organised in collaboration with UNU-CRIS Digital Governance Cluster: “Building the Interplanetary Internet: Infrastructure and Technical Foundations“. The speaker, Dr Keith Scott, is an IPNSIG Board member and one of the leading experts in interplanetary networking. He will introduce the technical infrastructure underpinning the emerging interplanetary internet. The session is designed to be accessible to non-technical audiences, Read more

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Register for IISL Member’s Corner #21

The 21st IISL digital meetup and second edition of its updated format entitled IISL Members’ Corner will be held on Saturday, 14 March 2026, 13:00-14:30 CET on the topic: Legislating for Commercial Space Activities: The example of the United Kingdom In this digital meetup, the following experts will take part: Ruairidh Leishman, Solicitor, Shepperd WedderburnPatrick Bell, GC SaxaVord, Shetland Space CentreFionagh Thomson, Fellow, Durham University (working on standardisation) The event will be moderated by IISL President Read more

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IISL Working Group on Interplanetary Internet Holds Inaugural Event with UNU-CRIS

The International Institute of Space Law (IISL) Working Group on Interplanetary Internet held its inaugural session, marking a significant step toward advancing research on future space‑based communication networks. Chaired by Berna Akcali Gur of the UNU-CRIS Digital Governance Cluster, the Working Group will guide research on the legal foundations of interplanetary connectivity, informed by relevant policy and technical considerations. The Group aims to produce a report that identifies applicable norms and principles of outer space Read more

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The IISL Awards season 2026 is open: Call for nominations

IISL honors exceptional contributions to space law at its Annual Awards Dinner during the annual IISL Colloquium, with accolades including the Lifetime Achievement Award and Distinguished Service Award, among others. The call for nominations for the 2026 Awards season is now open! Nominations will be received until Friday, 27 February 2026. For more info, please visit our dedicated web page:

By adminSL, ago

New IISL venture: Call for Expert Initiative on Article XI OST

Dear IISL Members, We are starting a new membership engagement format: an IISL Expert Intitiative. We invite expressions of interest to join a new IISL venture: an IISL Expert Initiative on Article XI of the Outer Space Treaty (OST). The goal is to compile a contribution to the 2026 Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) Legal Subcommittee’s (LSC) Working Group on the Status and Application of the Five UN Treaties on Outer Read more

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IISL Working Group on AI in Space Featured in Stanford Law School Policy Lab

The International Institute of Space Law (IISL) Working Group on the Legal Aspects of Artificial Intelligence in Space was recently featured as a core component of Stanford Law School’s Space Law & Policy Lab, “Governing Autonomous & AI-Enabled Systems in Outer Space,” a two-quarter policy lab advising The Aerospace Corporation, where Tuana Yazici, Chair of the IISL Working Group, was invited to serve as the first guest expert speaker for the inaugural course. As part Read more

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Obituary Prof. Karl-Heinz Böckstiegel

The International Institute of Space Law announces with great sadness the passing of Prof. Karl-Heinz Böckstiegel on 19 Dec. 2025. Professor Böckstiegel was former director of the Institute and later Honorary Director of IISL. He was the fifth director of the Cologne Institute of Air and Space Law from 1975 to 2001. He was an outstanding figure in international commercial law and international arbitration. In the field of air and space law he was chairman Read more

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IISL Members’ Corner #20 held

IISL held its 20th IISL digital meetup and first edition of its updated format entitled IISL Members’ Corner on Saturday, 13 December 2025, 13:00-14:00 CET. IISL President Lesley Jane Smith opened the digital meetup by reflecting the achievements of the IISL of the year 2025, and setting the scene of European space activities in the context of the Draft EU Space Act, which was published by the EU in June 2025. In this session, our Read more

By adminSL, ago